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Beach volleyball
20/07/2017

World Tour back to Morocco after five-season absence

Agadir, Morocco, July 20, 2017 – The last one-star event on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour 2017 is about to get underway on Friday in Morocco. Almost six years after the men-only Agadir Open took place in October 2011, the World Tour returns to Morocco’s largest seaside resort for its second event in the African country.

The $20,000 double-gender Agadir Open will be held at Plage Jour et Nuit on Morocco’s Atlantic coast from July 21 through 23. This will be the first time the country is hosting a women’s FIVB beach volleyball international tournament.

Teams from as many as 21 different countries will take part in the tournament in Agadir. In each gender, a 16-team single-elimination format will be applied, with 12 different nations represented in the men’s main draw and 14 – on the women’s side.

Canada’s Megan Nagy and Marie-Christine Lapointe are the top-seeded duo in the women’s draw. They have already appeared at four of this year’s World Tour stops and their best finish was the fifth place from their most recent participation – in June’s two-star tournament in Nantong.

The second seed goes to Switzerland’s Nicole Eiholzer and Dunja Gerson. Their best finish on the 2017 World Tour in their six participations so far is also a fifth place, from the Langkawi One Star in April.

The third-seeded women’s duo comes from Scotland. 31-year-old Lynne Beattie and 46-year-old Melissa Coutts are actually on their rookie World Tour season as a pair. They finished ninth at three of their five appearances so far, including the two-star event in Sydney.

The men’s draw is headed by Finland’s Pekka Piippo and Jyrki Nurminen. Interestingly, this will be the first FIVB beach volleyball tournament for either of them.

Iran’s Bahman Salemiinjehboroun and Rahman Raoufi hold the second seed in Agadir. This will be the third in 2017 and seventh overall World Tour appearance for the pair, with a two-time 17th place at home on Kish Island as their best finish.

The third seed is for another duo from the Persian Gulf area – Qatar’s Julio Cesar Do Nascimento Junior and Ahmed Tijan. This team has played at 11 World Tour stops in 2016 and 2017. The ninth place from the Xiamen three-star tournament in April of this year is their best achievement so far.

Host country Morocco will be represented in Agadir by three men’s and two women’s teams.

For both genders, the first round will be held on Friday, the quarterfinals – on Saturday, and the semifinals and finals – on Sunday.